01 February, 2008

MKS has introduced a leather covered version of their very useful half clips. I'm a big fan of these. They allow you to spin fast without the hassle of straps or special shoes. Half clips are great on kid's bikes and especially on city bikes. With this new version I can arrive at work with my spit shined wing tips unblemished.

MKS also has a nice new model of toe clip strap, the Fit-A-Spirits. Like all MKS products these are very well made, but what's great is the traditional colors, especially the honey.

And we have Sugino XD600 triple cranks with the new logo. These are Sugino's top of the line triple and they are really well finished. For you traditionalists, we'll have more of the old-logo cranks in about a 6 weeks.

11 comments:

Any chance Sugino could do a "premium" level of the XD600? It's a nice crank but the finish is a bit rough compared to Campy, Shimano and TA. Also the chainrings are pretty roughly finished compared to the finish on found on other rings. I know Sugino offers other cranks with a very high level of finish rivaling Campy, TA and Shimano.

Chris: We would forever be in your debt, if you were successful in procuring the legendary Sugino Cospea (arguably IMO the finest 110bcd square-taper double every made): http://www.jitensha.com/eng/cospeacrnk_e.html

Regarding Sugino, I'm soooo confused. Here is the link to their site: http://www.suginoltd.co.jp/

Neither I nor our agent can figure out exactly what they make at the moment. They have been revamping their line for a while now. I think the Cospea/Alpina may be in production, but I can't be sure. We're waiting for the complete price list that our agent is trying to get.

The new MKS straps are made of genuine Japanese pleather. I thought it was leather, but a close look reveals that it's a man-made material.

I am curious about the holes in the middle of the spiders on the tevanos. Are they for a third ring? Are they mounting holes for some elaborate french music box-cycle? a misguided attempt to 'lighten up?'M Burdge

I own and use the Sugino Cospea and the TA Zephyr Cranksets in the 110 bcd drilling - both are excellent, but I'd give the Zephyr the top spot (the TA rings are better quality IMO). Too bad TA stopped making the Zephyr.